First things first with a new lathe?

[Tired&Retired]

Only a couple things that are real deal killers: we just had a member take delivery on a small lathe; the bed was cracked. We all piled on telling him to send it back, don't try to fix it. He finally got his credit card company involved and will get it resolved.
That, or a severe headstock problem like bent spindle and/or damaged bearings are the two real biggies. Most everything else can be fixed or dealt with.
-Mark

Yeah, I did read that thread about the cracked bed. I would have sent it back, no doubt. I intend to thoroughly inspect the lathe when it comes in for such damage, so hopefully a crack would be visible and not covered over by filler and paint. I would think a bend spindle or damaged bearings would be kind of obvious when I put the dial indicator on the chuck. Honestly, I'm thinking about replacing the bearings right off the bat anyway. The tear down inspection, cleaning, honing time would be probably best to do that sort of thing anyway. I find that I am actually looking forward to the tear down process, maybe even more than actually using it. I like to see how things tick.

I've read some accounts where some people claim that these "no brand name" lathes on Ebay are quality control rejects from orders from brand name buyers. Thing is, I have never seen these 1.5" spindle hole lathers being sold by any name brand (at least selling in the USA market), so I am not sure how truthful such a rumor like this might be. Honestly had a number of companies I can think of been selling this model, I would have certainly chosen to buy from them instead of off of Ebay. Here is the specific lathe I have ordered -> https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-Metal...417440?hash=item3da98a49e0:g:sGcAAOSwDBle~Aua Anyone here heard similar stories or validation that it's just not idle rumor? Like I said, it has pretty nice looking specs and if it is a solid machine, should pretty much do everything I am going to need a lathe for. So I HOPE this ends well.

I've had mostly good experiences through Ebay, but there have been some instances not so good, although not life ending. So I understand the aggravation risks invoved, and am willing to roll the dice. Ebay seems a lot better about standing behind the buyer than they used to be years ago, plus I paid for this through PayPal using a credit card, so I think I'm pretty well covered if things go real sour. One thing it appears that Ebay has changed, bowing in deference to their Chinese customers, is that now they show where the PRODUCT is located, and not where the SELLER is located. I'm sure they were pressured by the Chinese to do such a thing. Typically when I am looking for something, I set the filter to USA SELLERS ONLY. But when the seller only contacts you around midnight, you sort of know what timezone they are located within.

Anyway, looks like the seller is backing down on that $150 residential delivery thing. I was going to stand my ground and cancel if he insisted on it, and honestly would have been OK either way. So we will see. They have till the credit card bill becomes due to get it to me, otherwise I assume I have just been jerked around and react accordingly. So just waiting on tracking info right now.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[jjtgrinder]

I purchased a Little Machine Shop model 3540 lathe. I’m happy with it thus far. It like all machines has pros and cons.
As to your concerns, I have had to do very little to it in the area of “fine tuning“ and cleaning of sand. I did have to clean the usual storage/shipping grease off. The only serious design flaw I have encountered is in the tailstock, which has a pin instead of a key to guide the quill. I’m changing that. The other thing is the machine is slightly under powered. I’ve had bigger lathes in the past and I’m accustomed to more power from a back gear. If it had a tumble reverse that could easily allow the operator to quickly reverse the leadscrew, that would be some nice icing on the cake. Lead screw reversal is accomplished by simply moving a gear on the gear train. The machine came very well adjusted and ready to use. I made some test cuts to determine accuracy and the machine did very well. I did the normal bedding and leveling of the lathe bed. I bought a Grizzly G0765 lathe 8 months before the LMS 3540. It was a real piece of junk. Could never get it setup properly.

 

[addertooth]

Much like JJtGrinder, I have a LMS lathe. and paid a higher-than-eBay price for it.

What did I get for the price differential?
Local support. A local inventory of spare/upgrade and replacement parts. Factory installed Quick Change post, Digital Read out, Precision Ground as versus milled surfaces, larger chuck than what is normally found on lathes (in the size I ordered), and better hand wheels. It is a well-known model which has many articles which covers upgrades and maintenance.

When it arrived, there were no casting voids, no cracks, no sand, and it only had a 4/10,000 of an inch taper over the length of a foot (without me tuning or doing any work other than levelling). They had upgraded gears, brass Gibs and Tapered Bearings in stock; those parts were ordered at the same time as the lathe. Any Chinese manufactured lathe can be improved. The ball-bearing steady rest was also ordered, as I anticipate machining thin and soft material. The brass-ended steady rest would scuff/scratch the soft ebonite material which will be periodically machined.

Of these criteria, having a Second Set of Eyes on quality control was important to me, as was a good inventory of spares and upgrade parts.
The lathe was being purchased for Years of use, as versus Months of use. To be clear on this, other companies such as Precision Matthews (PM) also offers the same advantages as well. I will likely go PM when it is time to purchase a Mill.

 

[Tired&Retired]

Well, the lathe is in Dothan, AL right now, with delivery planned for next week sometime. Of course, Hurricane Sally is going to gum things up a bit concerning the weather. Normally I would arrange to meet the delivery truck at the local Walmart parking lot and just slide the package from their truck into the bed of the pickup truck. But if it's raining like hell, I'm not much inclined to do that. I thought UPS Freight had a depot right in Tallahassee, but they are claiming that the depot there is not for freight service. Otherwise I would have it put there until the weather looked good enough to do a pickup. Delivery to the house is a problem because our road is just barely wide enough for a big rig to come on down it. Actually getting into our driveway is positively a NO-GO. So that means traffic on the road would be blocked for the duration of transferring the box from one vehicle to the other. And if it is raining, still the problem of dealing with a 183 lb box on rain slicked surfaces. Looks like the weather is going to complicate things, no matter what. Yeah, I know the lathe is going to be all boxed up and greased up, but I just don't like the thought of any tool getting rained on.

Once the lathe is on the pickup truck, the plan is to back it into the garage. The plan is to de-box the lathe right in the bed of the pickup truck and do the cleaning and inspection right there. I figure it will be much easier to move in pieces while it is disassembled anyway.

So, I'm just not sure what is going to happen with the delivery angle. I guess it will work out, regardless.

Speaking of Little Machine Shop, I have been talking with them off and on about accessories with this lathe. They seem very helpful and are willing to help me out with whatever I need. I have purchased accessories from them before for my Compact 5 lathe over the years. Unfortunately they don't offer a lathe that could meet my needs in a number of departments, otherwise I would have gladly purchased from them. Same goes for Precision Matthews. They have nice stuff, but too big and too heavy for what I want.

Quite honestly, I had given up the idea of upgrading my Compact 5 till I saw this one on Ebay I am now getting. I don't have space for anything much larger, and the weight is a real issue. I had to hire movers many moons ago to get my milling machine into my workroom. And there were a few moments where I thought the job was beyond them too. So I am working with self-imposed limits now.

 

[matthewsx]

I wouldn't let the rain stop you unless it will make getting into your truck bed dangerous. You're going to take it apart for cleaning anyway so any water that gets onto it will be a non-issue. A 183# box should almost be a one hander for most LTL truckers, just slide it in and throw a tarp over the box....

John

 

[Tired&Retired]

I wouldn't let the rain stop you unless it will make getting into your truck bed dangerous. You're going to take it apart for cleaning anyway so any water that gets onto it will be a non-issue. A 183# box should almost be a one hander for most LTL truckers, just slide it in and throw a tarp over the box....

John

Yeah, getting in and out of the truck bed is actually the issue most on my mind. The pickup truck does sit up pretty high, and the bumper would be rather slick when wet. Rain would make us hurry and that is when accidents can happen. The older I get the more I pay attention to things that could cause damages that won't heal as quickly as they used to. I think that is my grandfather's genes speaking, because us kids used to drive him crazy with the stunts he considered as being dangerous to us.

Well hopefully I will get a strong enough driver on the delivery truck that he can use both hands to slide the box onto the pickup truck and my wife and I can just stand back and applaud. The wife and I are not as strong as we used to be when we were younger and I believe that 183 lbs between us would be a struggle. I would much rather underestimate our limits than to overestimate them. I am 70 years old and the wife is 65. I guess I have just gotten more cautious than I used to be too. I've already done enough dumb things in my life that I hope I have aged enough to have learned something from them.

 

[Tired&Retired]

Well, the lathe showed up today. I'll go into more detail later, but suffice it to say that it went smoother than I thought it would. Real wrinkle is that one of the levers came loose from the carriage control knobs. Normally no big deal, but there are a bunch of small parts involved that were laying in a bunch alongside the lever itself. 5 magnets, two springs, and two ball bearings. Unfortunately no drawing about how it should go back in dropped out along with it. Anyone got any good idea about how this should go back in? I haven't run the motor yet, but I did turn the chuck and move the carriage manually just a bit before realizing where that lever came from.

No other visible damage at all. Well, a small paint ding on the edge of the drip shield, but they just had that flopping around loose inside the crate anyway. Oh yeah, not sure why they put those pointer decals on the end of the knobs upside down like they did.

 

[matthewsx]

Happy to hear you got it delivered

look for a manual from a similar sized Weiss lathe. They’re pretty generic.

John

 

[Tired&Retired]

Happy to hear you got it delivered

look for a manual from a similar sized Weiss lathe. They’re pretty generic.

John

Thanks for the tip, but that didn't help me much, as the levers being used on those Weiss machines don't seem to be anything like the ones on mine. What the heck are the magnets for? And why two springs and two ball bearings? BTW, I did get a "manual" with this lathe, but no exploded views and no parts diagrams. Actually pretty poor xerox copy, if you ask me, and written in almost passable Chinglish.

Anyway, I may have some bigger fish to fry with this lathe. While looking at the photos I took when I brought it home, I spotted something odd near the carriage. So I took the camera back out and moved the carriage away from that area. Pics are attached as to what I found there.

How serious is this damage? Looks like perhaps there was a casting flaw there and someone took a grinder to it. You can still see a casting flaw on the vertical surface of the way sliding surface. I guess I could put a dial indicator on the carriage as I move it over this grind mark to see what happens, but damn...

Well, I've got 30 days to return it, if necessary. And I paid by credit card via PayPal, so I can always dispute the charge, again, if necessary. With that in mind, I can live with the ways damage if it will be insignificant, and is really just cosmetic damage. The lever problem is surely something that is fixable, even if I have to resort to trial and error. It's not like I have never done that before...

 

[matthewsx]

Hi Rich,

Sorry that there's some issues, I guess trial & error is the best plan if the seller doesn't have any better documentation. I would say the damage on the bed is going to be your call as buyer. First see if it makes any operational difference then decide if you can live with it if it doesn't. It's not like the cracked bed another member got and if the carriage doesn't ride on that area it might be better to not worry about it. Again, totally you call but in my experience Chinese sellers are more inclined to offer partial refunds than take stuff back. Maybe you can get enough to buy some tooling

My guess with the lever is the ball bearing goes in first, you could always take the other one out and see how it's assembled.

John